Interview with David Adkisson, December 12, 2014

Partial Transcript: Okay, M--Mr. Adkisson, let's start with, uh--would you just say your, your name at birth and your date of birth?

Segment Synopsis: David Adkisson talks about his formative years and early career with the Chamber of Commerce in Owensboro which initiated his interest in higher education. He talks about efforts to locate a community college in Daviess County and to improve high school graduation rates. He talks about joining the Prichard Committee, the Citizens Committee on Education, and running for mayor.

Keywords: Bob Sexton; Chamber of Commerce; Citizens' Committee on Education; Common Core; Ed Prichard, Jr.; John Hager; Owensboro Community and Technical College; Wendell Ford

Subjects: Owensboro (Ky.); Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence; Prichard Committee on Higher Education in Kentucky's Future

Partial Transcript: You helped establish a group called, uh, Business Leaders, uh--Leaders Championing Education--I know I probably don't have that exactly right.

Segment Synopsis: Adkisson describes how a group he helped establish, Business Champions for Education, helped with the Kentucky education reform movement. He talks about the ideological controversy over the creation of common core standards. He discusses the organized opposition to school reform over the course of time.

Keywords: Common Core; Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS); Gambling; Jim Allen; Kentucky Education Association (KEA); Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA); Lottery; Stu Silberman

Subjects: Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence

Partial Transcript: Can you reflect--can you say something about, um, the Prichard Committee's role in promoting school reform in Kentucky?

Segment Synopsis: Adkisson talks about Bob Sexton's success in rallying support for education reform in Kentucky. He talks about the process of transition of education reform from a focus on higher education to primary and secondary education. He talks about three objectives: centers of excellence; full formula funding; and a third objective he cannot recall.

Keywords: Ashland Oil; Bob Sexton; Kentucky Advocates for Higher Education

Subjects: Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence

Partial Transcript: As the head of the state chamber of commerce, uh, I'm guessing you'd have, you'd have a good sense of how other state chambers in the, in the region kind of worked with education groups.

Segment Synopsis: Adkisson talks about the activist role of business institutions such as the state chamber of commerce in supporting education and education reform in the state of Kentucky. He compares the support for education issues within the Kentucky business community to other states.

Keywords: Business Champions for Education; Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA); The Gates Foundation

Subjects: Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence

Partial Transcript: So they're--and they're not recruiting I assume as much from the Kentucky workforce, from graduates from--of Kentucky colleges?

Segment Synopsis: Adkisson talks about Kentucky businesses having an interest in state education policy in recruiting quality employees. He talks about the role of the state chamber of commerce to act as liaison between business and education policy makers. He talks about the need for STEM and "soft skills" for educated employees.

Keywords: Jefferson Community College; Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM); Shakertown; Toyota Incorporated; United Parcel Service (UPS); University of Louisville; YUM Brands

Subjects: Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence

Partial Transcript: And, and how have you, um, as the head of the chamber of commerce, um, brought those, those statements from business leaders of what they want to the education groups, uh, and translated it for them?

Segment Synopsis: Adkisson talks about programs to develop "soft skills" of employees which includes arriving to work on time and being drug free. He talks about the process of translating business community needs into education policy.

Keywords: Charter schools; Council on Postsecondary Education; Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA); Monster.com; School based decision making; Tenure

Subjects: Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence; Prichard Committee on Higher Education in Kentucky's Future

Partial Transcript: Is the chamber--are the chamber and the Prichard Committee still actively working together on Common Core--

Segment Synopsis: Adkisson discusses education funding issues and projects studying alternative solutions.

Keywords: Business Champions for Education; Common Core; Council on Postsecondary Education; Department of Education; Education funding; Fund for Transforming Education in Kentucky; Gates Foundation; Kentucky Chamber Foundation; Stu Silberman

Subjects: Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence

Partial Transcript: Uh, one other thing, and I'm going slightly off your questioning here, but I want to mention that is unique about our chamber and its involvement in education, and the Prichard Committee has been informally very supportive of this...

Segment Synopsis: Adkisson talks about the state chamber of commerce adopting a strategy on education policy of promoting leadership training for public school principals.

Keywords: Bob Sexton; Brown-Foreman; Center for Creative Leadership (CCL); Charter schools; Computer Services Incorporated (CSI); Executive training; General Motors; Papa John's Inc.; Raise Your Hand Texas; Stu Silberman; Toyota

Subjects: Center for Creative Leadership

Partial Transcript: And can you say something about how you came to the con--how the chamber came to the conclusion that, that--of being behind charter schools?

Segment Synopsis: Adkisson talks about the state chamber of commerce's gradual acceptance of charter schools. He attributes the change to a traditional commitment to KERA as opposed to wide spread business community support for charter schools.

Keywords: Chamber of commerce; Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA); Michael Childress; National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)

Subjects: Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence